Microsoft is shutting down card and board games for Windows XP, ME and 7
Microsoft is ready to pack up its board and card games once and for all. The software giant has published a post on Microsoft Answers announcing the retirement schedule for the old-school games bundled with now retired versions of Windows, including Backgammon, Checkers, Spades, Hearts, Reversi and MSN Go.
“Hello, Microsoft Internet Games players,” the post begins. “It is with heavy hearts that we have made the difficult decision that the following games will no longer be supported,” it continues before listing the games and the version of Windows impacted.
Windows XP and ME users will be losing the most, with everything except MSN Go included. Windows 7 players, on the other hand, will just see the end of Backgammon, Checkers, Spades and MSN Go, and they also see a stay of execution into next year. While games for XP and ME will cease to work on July 31, Windows 7’s game services will stay online until January 22 2020.
“We truly appreciate all the time and passion you’ve put into Microsoft Internet Games. This has been a great community,” the blog post continues. “However, the time has come for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources towards more recent technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new experiences.”
While that could mean any part of the business, Microsoft’s internet gaming plans have got considerably more complex since the days when multiplayer Checkers was the norm. Project xCloud, for one thing, promises to stream Xbox One games to anywhere in the world. While you’d imagine Microsoft only has limited resources working on older Windows games, every little helps.
“While we’re saddened to leave this chapter behind, we continue to be committed to delivering engaging, delightful gaming experiences,” the post continues. “We hope you’ll come with us on this journey and join the community of any of the other Microsoft casual games.” Ideally joining that community on Windows 10 – an OS that the company is still actively supporting.
Did you play these older internet games? Share your reminiscences with us on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
